CNET First Look

Bose SoundTouch 10 WiFi speaker system: A worthy Sonos competitor

The SoundTouch 10 is Bose's most affordable wireless multi-room audio speaker -- and it sounds excellent for its size.

1:54 / 31 March 2016

Transcript

[MUSIC]
This is the SoundTouch10 the smallest and least expensive in Bose's line of WiFi mutli-room speakers that now all have Bluetooth capabilities as well.
At $200 the compact SoundTouch10 which comes in black or white competes with Sonos' Play1 speaker and is similar in size though the Bose is taller and thinner.
Life with Sonos, you connect sound touch speakers to your WiFi network and control operations via free app that's available for Apple, IOS and Android Devices.
While your phone or tablet acts as a remote, those also include a small remote that has a reset button that makes the sixth preset button on top of the speaker.
Those presets can be mapped to playlist to various music sources.
Including Spotify, Pandora, and Deezer as well as internet radio stations, though currently not Apple's Beats music service.
The only other thing missing from the features list is an integrated battery, which would allow you to unteather the speaker from it's ac adapter.
Bose has improved both its app and software behind its wi-fi audio system, is now Sonos most serious competitor with a wide range of speakers and home theater systems that bear the sound touch name and are able to inner connect as part of a whole house multi room audio system.
So how does this compare to Sonos' play one?
Well, like that speaker, it plays very big for its size and sounds quite impressive.
Is very strong in the mid range, it's great with vocals and acoustical material, and has a surprising amount of bass for its size, it can fill a small room with sound.
It's a little more forward sounding than the Sonos with a little treble push that adds some clarity, but can also be a touch too edgy with certain tracks at higher volumes.
The [INAUDIBLE] is a little more forgiving and slightly warmer speaker.
But both are excellent for their size and this Bose is one of the best small WiFi speakers we've tested.
I'm David Carnoy, thanks for watching.

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